Another Valentine

I don't think there is a flower more closely associated with Valentine's Day and love than the red rose.

I don't have many roses in my garden, many are not hardy here and even the very hardy rugosas suffer a great deal of winter kill on my west facing hillside garden. And then there are the rose chafers and Japanese beetles. I do have a few old fashioned roses, the ones that don't need much care.

But I do love them and buy myself bouquets (or try to get my husband to buy them for me) often.

The top picture is one of my Valentine cards. The second a mosaic of roses which was a pleasure to make.

Find of the Day:

I think this is the prettiest soap I have ever seen. A perfect gift for your valentine, a ruby red bar of soap sprinkled with rose petals.

The soap is handmade by Swanmoutain Soaps on Etsy. An unbelievable buy for $6.

Bleeding Hearts for Valentines Day

It was 8 below zero last night and it is supposed to be colder tonight. Instead of thinking of the cold I will think about Valentines Day and spring Bleeding Hearts.

Bleeding Hearts are an old cottage garden favorite and a perfect flower for a Valentines Day card. They grow easily in the shade garden and look particularly nice on a bank or the top of a stone wall with their flowers hanging down.

The old fashioned bleeding heart is a native of Japan but there are native bleeding hearts as well. The individual flowers are simpler and less dramatic but they bloom all summer and have pretty foliage that does not die back in summer heat. They also like shade.

The little pink flowers on the bottom of this locket are native bleeding hearts. (The locket can be found on my Etsy jewelry site, Beaded Wire.)

Find of the Day:

I think these woven thread earrings look like hearts. I have no idea how she does these but I think they are lovely. They come in many colors, these are called Ruby.

Available from the Etsy shop, SincearJewelry.